Bishop Videos

Here's a few videos that I took on my little camera, they're not the best quality but they give you a flavor of some of the problems we tried.

Me on Seven Spanish Angels a V6 that I did on my first day. Its a really cool problem climbing up an overhanging wall on slopers and crimps with a dyno or jump to a huge jug on the lip.

Micah getting really close on Cayla (V7) at the Druid Stones. This problem was absolutely beautiful, he makes the moves look a lot easier than they actually are.

Some guy on Checkerboard (V8), we tried it but kept falling off at the same point, its really crimpy.

Some other guy on Solitaire (V8) a two move power problem, Micah also got pretty close on this one.

George repeating Rene (V5) a cool thin overhanging wall on small sharp pockets. I got lucky on this one and managed to flash it.

Callum sending The Beekeeper (hard V6), a really long and high climb, he topped it out but he spent about 3 minutes on the top part so I didn't film it all. Micah got a good video of it too.

Beer can crushing (V8?), harder than it looks. I didn't manage the flash.

Giving Thanks for Bishop

Well the Bishop trip was a success, Micah and I made it back safely to Olympia on Saturday after seven awesome days of climbing. It was really fun to hang out with the Brits George, Dave and Ben again. We joked around the whole week, they said they saw a different side of me with Laura absent, maybe they were referring to my flatulence issues (note to self, cans of corned beef and raisins doesn’t make a balanced diet), but we certainly had some good guy time.
We made it to Bishop!


The trip almost started with disaster after Micah and I almost spun off the road driving over the snowy mountain passes in Oregon, we arrived a bit later than we hoped on Saturday afternoon and the rampage began. George showed us the beta on the V6 classic Seven Spanish Angels and we promptly crushed. Micah should have flashed it, but wimped out on the committing last move and had to settle for a 2nd go send, and I sent it soon afterwards. I also managed a quick send of the Cave Route a burly V6. That afternoon we met another Brit out there Alan, a small guy of 49 who had just arrived from Yosemite where he had been onsighting 5.13 trad! It was awesome to climb with him, he had a great attitude and is one of the most technical climbers I have ever witnessed. He would find different beta on every boulder problem we tried, it usually involved a heel hook behind his ear or some other contortion.

The giant boulders at the Buttermilks


On Sunday we got on a few harder things like Checkerboard and Solitaire, I didn’t push myself too hard on things that I didn’t think I could do quickly since I knew I’d have to save my skin for the rest of the week. We cut the day short and headed into town where the guys found a church that was serving free thanksgiving dinner, and we were more than happy to take advantage of their generosity.
The jumbled Happy Boulders


The next day we headed to the Happy Boulders to get on a few things we had our eye on. We did a team ascent of The Clapper, a V6 George said was really easy, it may be easy if your 6ft+ but Micah and I had to work it for a while before we topped out. Next up was Rene, a highball V5, I managed to flash it which was lucky cause the holds were razor sharp pockets that would rip your skin with repeated attempts, Allan and the rest of them thought it was pretty hard for V5, but like I told them its hard to tell how difficult the problems are when you flash everything. My other projects in the Happy's such as Rave and The Hulk didn't feel doable though, but Micah finished off Acid Wash Right for his first Bishop V7! We celebrated that night with half price dinner at Whiskey Creek.

Dave topping out The Clapper

Tuesday we decided to check out the sport climbing in nearby Owens River Gorge. I was impressed with how large an area it is. We only visited one small part of it, but there were enough routes there to keep you busy for a long time. After a quick warm up I got on a really cool 12b called Enterprise, it climbed through a roof for a few clips on pretty good holds, then had a crux turning the lip of the roof before a tricky headwall. I came pretty close to onsighting it, but fell off at the crux, I was able to send it second go though, along with Alan although he used crazy beta and did it a completely different way to me.

Me on the start of Enterprise (12b)

Micah on a less steep route at Owens River Gorge

The next day I felt surprisingly good and was psyched to get on more boulders, we made the long hike up to the Druid Stones Area, which was tough but so worth it. The boulders at the Druid Stones are simply amazing, like the Buttermilks but more featured, and on a scenic plateau overlooking bishop. We warmed up on the Thunder Wall where I flashed a tough V3 and V4 that climbed up immaculate overhanging patina, before we moved on to the amazing Skye Dance Boulder. We all worked a V6 called Skye Dance which may be the best boulder problem I've ever tried. It starts out on an undercut boulder on slopey huecos, you get a heel up in the hueco then make a burly move out to a undercling, match it, reach up to some good crimps then bust a hard move up right to some juggy patina, and top out. We all worked it for about an hour before Micah got the first send followed by George, Me, and Allan. I really wanted this problem and was really psyched to finally get it. We played around on a few other things up there before we headed back down and got a roaring camp fire going.

The immaculate patina of Thunder Wall at the Druid Stones


On Thursday we set about getting on some of the classics at the Buttermilks that we really wanted to try. First up was Jedi Mind Tricks, a super classic highball V4. I managed to flash it, it felt pretty steady if you are good on crimps and don't worry about the height. We then tried a V7 Cindy Swank on the Honey Boulder. I got on it and realized it could be doable. It starts standing with a couple of powerful moves on good incut holds on an overhang to reach a jug on the lip, to here its probably only V5, then comes the crux, you have to bone down on a small grainy crimp over the lip while highstepping to reach a bad sloper, get a high foot perched on the jug, then snatch high up right to hit a victory jug. It took me a few goes to figure out the beta, but once I got to the last move I fully committed and latch the jug! It was awesome to do a V7 relatively fast, it definitely suited my style. Micah sent as well a few goes later.
Dave trying The Beekeper at The Buttermilks


Later that day we headed to the High Plains Drifter, we knew it was our last day at the Buttermilks so we sacrificed our remaining skin. We didn't manage to send it but Micah couldn't have been closer, he fell off the last hard move after fondling the finish jug. We also did a really fun V1 to finish off the day called A Birthing Experience, its a trick problem that starts lying down in a giant hueco and you have to use a shoulder jam to reach a jug. Once the sun went down we headed back to town where we treated ourselves to a motel and a lot of beers.
Me on my highpoint of High Plains Drifter


George showing us how its done on A Birthing Experience


Friday morning we were all feeling a bit worse for ware, but we wanted to get a bit more climbing in before we headed back up the road. We headed up to the Rock Creek area, which is a small area with fine-grain granite blocks at about 8,600ft. It was pretty chilly up there and our skin was absolutely trashed at this point so everything felt hard, but I did manage to get up a V2 and V3, they felt really hard though. Before we left we made some additions to their van (see photo below) and said our goodbye's. George and Dave are headed down to Baja California for some R&R in the sun, then who knows where next. I'm kinda jealous, although I think one week with them was about all I could handle. Now I'm back home catching up with all my schoolwork, I think its going to be a long winter before I'll get back climbing outside again, but at least I'll have the memories of Bishop to hang on to.

The Crew

The Van

October Tan

The Dutchess, George Ben and Dave's van/home for the next 6 months.
Me repeating the really fun route Heresey

Me leading a 5.8 in the Red Wall area wearing Laura's shoes that didn't fit my feet, its a long story.

This will have to be a short blog since I've got lots of homework I should be doing. I wasn't sure if I was going to get out climbing this weekend, then I got a call from my good friend George from the UK. He had just arrived in the San Francisco for the start of a 6 month climbing road trip with two mates a few days earlier. For reasons that I wont go into they had to drive up to Oregon in their newly aquired van so decided to stop off at Smith Rock.

Laura, Sarah and I drove down for the weekend to meet them. It was Sarah's first visit to Smith and I think she was impressed. Hanging out with George and his mates Ben and Dave was a lot of fun, being around a good British accent and British humor makes me miss home. They were looking a bit haggard from driving around and sleeping in sub-freezing temps in their van for a week, but their psyche was high for climbing. They had been there for a few days already but with only the old guide for reference they had gotten on some pretty old-school chossfests like a multi-pitch on Picnic Lunch Wall. They were glad to have some local knowledge and I pointed them at some more popular classics like Toxic, Five Easy Pieces, Crack Babies and Heresey. We got on some new things as well, Laura had her Smith lead head on and did well flashing a 10b and onsighting a 10a (these are Smith grades remember). After getting on a lot of easy stuff I decided to ger back on Latest Rage a classic 12b arete that I had tried a couple of years earlier, I didn't remember much about it except that it felt really hard. I was feeling good when I got on it and the tiny crimps and pockets felt surprisingly good, before I knew it I had made the crux move to the jug rail high above the last bolt, from here most people place a good cam in a pocket, but I hadn't brought one because I didn't really expect to get that high on it, I ran it out and managed to keep my calm facing a 40ft whipper if I had blown it. It was a really good feeling to have finished off this classic line so easily and it has me psyched for harder stuff at Smith. I finished off a great weekend with an ascent of Vomit Launch one of the best 5.11's I've climbed anywhere and a cool repeat of Crack Babies a steep 12b. It was really fun hanging out with George again and meeting Ben and Dave, I'm really jelous of their trip, but at least I'll be able to keep up with them on Georges Blog he'll have some hilarious stories for sure. I can't wait to meet up with them again next month in Bishop!

Fontainebleau

I'm writing this sitting in the sun next to the pool at our place in Kalymnos (I'm writing this on paper first then going to an internet cafe). This place is really a climbers paradise, I haven't failed on a route yet and I onsighted 7b today! But I'll wrote more about Kalymnos later.

After a few days sightseeing in Paris, Laura and I met up with George and Tom, old friends from Stirling and caught the train down to Fontainebleau, the bouldering mecca of the world! It was the first time climbing in Font for all of us so I was a bit worried about how easy it would be to do without a car, but I needn't have have been worried.

George sending an excellent Font 6b in Roche aux Sabot

We picked up some essentials (baguettes, cheese, wine) from a supermarket in town then caught a taxi to the La Muisardierre campsite in the Trois Prinons area. It was warm and sunny so we quickly put up our tents, grabbed our mats and headed to what looked like the closest area in the guide, George aux Chats. After a quick 10 minute walk we stumbled upon some boulders. As it turned out after looking at a friends guide we actually found the Chatauveaux area, an even closer area thats not in my guide. This is a fairly esoteric venue by Font standards, but when we found it, it was like striking gold. Perfectly featured sandstone boulders in a peaceful setting all to ourselves. It turned out that every other place we went after that was even better! I soon learned how tough the Font ratings were after nearly busting a gut sending a stout roof at Chataveaux, only to find it in the guide the next day as Incognito a Font 6b! I thought it felt at least V6 (Font 7a)!

Me demonstrating how not to top out on a Font 6a in the Cul du Chien area

The next few days we spent on mostly easier stuff. We decided to try some circuts. Font circuts for those that don't know is basicly a trail of coloured numbers and arrows that are painted on to the boulders that take you over usually 30 - 50 boulder problems of a similar grade in the area. The ones we tried (yellow, blue, and red) are mostly easier stuff. Font 1c-5c (V0-v2), but they sure felt hard to us. I don't think we ever finished a whole circut. I could talk for days about grading in Fontainebleau but if i had to sum it up i would say, even if the footholds weren't all polished it would still be mostly sandbags (hard). Unless its a roof in which case its still hard but you don't need your feet as much so you can usually get by.

That brings me nicely to one of my favourite problems I did in the forest. Le Toit de Cul du Chien. On the third day we walked to the Cul du Chien area. One of the most iconic boulder problems in Fontainebleau is the big roof at Cul du Chien. It goes at Font 7a, I had seen lots of videos and photos of it before so I knew the beta, climb up to the roof get the first pocket get a high heel hook behind the flake, reach back to the second pocket cut loose and campus to the jug, easy enough right? Well I could get up to the pocket in the roof, but I couldn't get my heel to stick. Eventually in frustration I tried it without the heel just smearing on the back wall and viola I got the second pocket and did the problem! After that I didn't really feel the need to send other hard problems, actually I did try other hard stuff but didn't complete any.

Eric and Erica the Candians on Yogi a steep Font 7b

As for the social scene the campsite was good if a bit expensive (8 euros a night per person). There were only about a dozen or so climbers staying there at any time so there wasn't a big climbing scene like campgrounds at Squamish and Smith. But the climbers especially those without cars tended to congregate in the evenings. On the rainy evenings (there were only a couple of them) we gathered in the shelter and played scrabble (we brought it), or laura played the banjo. And on the nice evenings we sat out by the tents chatting and sipping our cheap (but good) french wine. Most of the climbers there were Brits, but there were others like Brendan, an Aussie travelling through Europe, who cracked us up with his stories, the one about homeless dan was priceless. And we happened to bump into an old friend of mine from the USMC, Sam, so it was nice to catch up.

Me on Le Flippeur a Font 6b in 91.1

Overall it was a great 8 days or so in Font, theres not much I would change if I could. It was a bummer not having warm food, but the baguettes and cheese from Milly (only 20 mins away if you know the shortcut) were pretty damn good. And the climbing was even better than I imagined, Font is more than just slopers and polish. I can't believe I lived so (relatively) close in Scotland for so long without visiting Fontainebleau and it took me to move across the world to visit for the first time. Well it certainly wont be my last visit.